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Some  years  ago  the  California  Association  of  Teachers  of  Ger- 
man published  an  outline  of  a  three  years'  course  in  German  for 
the  guidance  of  teachers  in  the  California  High  Schools.  Last 
October  the  Association,  in  view  of  the  changed  conditions  of 
German  instruction  in  our  schools  and  of  the  progress  which  has 
been  made  in  point  of  method,  decided  to  issue  a  new  declaration 
of  principles  more  in  keeping  with  the  present-day  theory  and  prac- 
tice of  modern-language  teaching.  The  plan  of  a  four-years'  course 
in  German  which  the  undersigned  committee  herewith  present  is 
based  upon  a  preliminary  report  which  was  discussed  and  adopted 
at  a  meeting  of  the  Association  held  in  Berkeley  on  December  28, 
1905,  in  connection  with  the  annual  session  of  the  California  Teach- 
ers' Association. 

Hugo  K.  Schilling, 

University  of  California. 
William  A.  Cooper, 

Stanford  University. 
LuDw^iG  J.  Demeter, 

University  of  California. 
Valentin"  Buehner, 

San  Jose  High  School. 


/"joy 


A  Four  Years'  Course  in  German  for  Secondary 

Schools 


INTnODUCTORY  EEMARKS. 

A  well-rounded  course  in  a  modern  foreign  language  will  pro- 
vide training  in  all  the  disciplines  of  language  study:  reading, 
grammar,  speaking,  and  composition.  The  old-time  grammar 
method  treated  these  disciplines  as  distinct  and  separate;  gram- 
mar had  to  be  taken  on  faith,  composition  was  mere  translation  for 
the  purpose  of  applying  grammatical  rules,  and  the  content  of  the 
reading  had  nothing  to  do  with  either.  But  the  revolution  which 
the  last  twenty  years  have  wrought  in  the  methods  of  language- 
teaching  has  established  the  necessity  of  a  close  correlation  be- 
tween these  various  disciplines;  the  reading  should  fonn  the  basis 
of  instruction  and  should  furnish  the  bulk  of  the  material  for  the 
study  of  grammar  and  for  practice  in  speaking  and  in  composition. 
In  the  earlier  stages  of  the  work,  reading,  grammar,  and  composi- 
tion should,  therefore,  not  be  assigned  to  different  recitations,  but 
should  constantly  go  hand  in  hand;  later,  when  reading  of  literary 
value  is  taken  up,  grammatical  drill  and  composition  should  have 
a  separate  time-allotment,  even  though  they  be  based  upon  the 
reading  matter ;  while  practice  in  speaking  should  continue  to  be  af- 
forded incidentally  but  systematically  in  connection  with  all  parts 
of  the  work,  the  German  language  serving  as  the  medium  of  in- 
struction. 

To  facilitate  reference,  the  various  disciplines  are,  in  the  fol- 
lowing, discussed  separately,  though  this  will  involve  some  repe- 
tition. 

FIRST   YEAR. 
PRONUNCIATION. 

German  is  a  living  language  and  should  be  taught  as  such.  Ac- 
cordingly, the  first  and  most  important  consideration  at  the  outset 
is  the  acquisition  of  a  correct  pronunciation.  We  should  like  to 
regard  this  as  so  much  a  matter  of  course  that  it  might  be  passed 
over  with  slight  mention.  But  the  fact  that  teachers  are  altogether 
too  prane  to  underestimate  the  importance  of  pronunciation  and 
that  text-books  are  too  apt  to  pass  it  over  with  superficial  and  inade- 
quate notice,  compels  us  to  lay  quite  particular  stress  upon  it. 

Every  teacher  ought  to  have  at  least  an  elementary  knowledge 
of  phonetics,  such  as  may  be  obtained  by  the  study  of  Hempl's  Ger- 
man Orthography  and  Phonology  (Ginn  &  Co.)  or  of  Rippman's 
Elements  of  Phonetics  (Dent,  London).  Instruction  in  pronim- 
ciation  should  be  put  upon  a  phonetic  basis,  that  is,  it  should  not  be 
a  matter  of  letters,  but  of  speech-sounds;  and  that  is  entirely  feasi- 


166889 


4         A  Four  Years'  Course  in  German  for  Secondary  Schools 

ble,  and  does  not,  as  many  suppose,  involve  the  use  of  a  highly 
technical  vocabulary. 

To  familiarize  the  student  with  this  method  of  attack,  we 
recommend  that  his  attention  be  first  called  to  the  way  in  which  he 
produces  the  sounds  of  his  mother-tongue.  A  simple  description 
of  the  organs  of  speech  will  be  necessary  to  this  end. 

The  sounds  should  be  classified  according  to  the'  way  in  which 
they  are  produced  (the  mode  of  articulation),  and  the  part  of  the 
mouth  or  throat  where  they  are  produced  (the  place  of  articula- 
tion). An  explanation  of  the  former  will  make  clear  to  the  stud- 
ent such  terms  as  'spirant,'  'explosive,'  'voiced,'  'voiceless,' 
'open,'  'closed,'  etc. ;  the  discussion  of  the  places  of  articulation 
will  teach  him  to  distinguish  between  front,  mixed,  and  back 
vowels,  gutturals,  palatals,  dentals,  labials,  etc.* 

When  the  student  has  mastered  these  principles  so  far  as  his 
mother-tongue  is  concerned,  the  following  important  differences 
between  the  two  languages  should  be  pointed  out: 

1.  In  English  there  are  more  mixed  vowels,  in  German  more 
back-vowels,  and  as  a  result  of  this  it  often  happens  that  con- 
sonants, too,  are  pronounced  farther  back  in  the  mouth  than  in 
English.  It  is  these  vowels  and  consonants  that  make  the  German 
language  sound  "throaty"  to  the  American. 

2.  Long  e  and  long  i  are  more  closed  in  German  than  in  Eng- 
lish. 

3.  The  muscles  of  the  mouth  are  more  active  and  more  fully 
brought  into  play  in  German  than  in  English.  Only  by  means  of  a 
very  marked  rounding  and  protruding  of  the  lips  can  the  true 
German  o  and  u  be  produced;  the  statement  that  one  often  finds 
in  grammars :  German  u  long=oo  in  boot,  is  inaccurate.  In  fact, 
with  the  exception  of  a  very  few  consonants,  the  corresponding 
German  and  English  sounds  are  not  identical. 

4.  English  long  a  and  o  are  ordinarily  not  pure  vowels,  but 
diphthongs.  Here  again,  most  of  our  grammars  are  at  fault  in  giv- 
ing equations  like  the  following: 

German  e  long=a  in  late. 
German  o  long=o  in  note. 

When  these  points  are  fully  understood,  the  class  is  ready  for 
systematic  practice  in  the  German  speech-sounds.     The  observing 

*These  explanations  in  phonetics  need  not  be  dry  or  abstractly  scientific ; 
it  is  easy  to  make  them  interesting  and  practical.  For  example:  Ask  the 
class  to  pronounce  the  words  "cold"  and  "keel"  in  succession,  and  to  note 
whether  the  k-sound  is  the  same  in  both  words.  Or  ask  them  to  describe 
the  way  in  which  they  form  th,  then  f.  The  eagerness  and  interest  wath 
which  the  students  will  try  to  find  an  adequate  and  correct  description  will 
pave  the  way  for  more  difficult  explanations  on  the  part  of  the  teacher. 


A  Four  Years'  Course  in  German  for  Secondary  Schools         5 

teacher  will  soon  note  that  it  is  not  the  absolutely  new  sounds  such 
as  ch,  u  etc.,  that  prove  most  troublesome,  but  rather  those  which 
to  the  unpracticed  ear  seem  to  differ  but  slightly  from  the  cor- 
responding English  sounds;  this  latter  class  must,  therefore,  re- 
ceive close  attention.  The  various  sounds  can  from  the  first  be 
practiced  in  entire  words;  but  care  should  be  taken  to  begin  with 
the  simplest  monosyllables,  so  as  to  ensure  concentration  of  atten- 
tion and  effort. 

Careful  drill  in  the  pronunciation  of  a  variety  of  words  con- 
taining the  more  difficult  sounds  and  sound  groups  should  be  re- 
sumed frequently  during  the  first  year  or  two,  if  only  for  a  few 
minutes  at  the  beginning  of  the  recitation.  But  the  teacher  should 
bear  in  mind  that,  after  all,  pronunciation  is  a  matter,  not  of  sepa- 
rate sounds,  or  even  words,  but  of  entire  sentences;  and  practice 
in  the  speaking  and  reading  aloud  of  sentences  with  due  regard  to 
intonation,  stress,  and  expression  should  begin  early  and  should  be 
continued  throughout  the  course. 

THE    SCRIPT. 

If  the  introductory  study  of  pronunciation  is  completed  before 
Reading  and  Grrammar  are  taken  up,  the  time  usually  given  to  home 
preparation  can  meanwhile  be  employed  to  advantage  in  practice  in 
the  German  script.  For  this  purpose  copy-books  with  copper-plate 
model  sentences  at  the  top  of  each  page  are  to  be  recommended.  A 
correct  formation  of  the  letters  should  be  insisted  upon,  and  the 
German  script  should  be  used  throughout  the  course;  the  notion 
that  it  is  being  abandoned  by  any  considerable  portion  of  the  Ger- 
man people  is  erroneous. 

READING. 

In  most  grammars  the  reading  begins  with  separate  sentences, 
but  in  some  it  consists  from  the  outset  in  connected  pieces,  anec- 
dotes, or  short  stories,  while  still  others  give  both  kinds  of  material, 
basing  the  grammatical  drill  upon  the  detached  sentences  only.  In 
any  case  the  reading  of  connected  prose  should  be  taken  up  at  an 
early  date;  an  exclusive  diet  of  disconnected  sentences  for  the  bet- 
ter part  of  a  year  is  usually  fatal.  In  the  first  year  only  the  sim- 
plest modern  prose  should  be  read.  It  will  necessarily  for  a  time 
serve  mainly  as  material  for  the  study  of  the  forms  of  speech ;  but 
the  teacher  should  gradually  reduce  the  discussion  of  grammatical 
points  to  a  minimum  and  should  rather  emphasize  the  story  and  its 
characteristically  German  qualities.  The  entire  lesson  should  be 
read  aloud  in  class.  Only  where  it  is  absolutely  necessary  should  a 
translation  into  English  be  made;  the  teacher  can,  as  a  rule,  easily 


6         A  Four  Years'  Course  in  German  for  Secondary  Schools 

find  out  whether  the  text  is  understood  by  asking  questions  about 
the  contents,  in  German. 

In  looking  over  the  available  readers,  we  find  that  almost  all 
make  the  mistake  of  grading  too  steeply;  the  transition  from  the 
simple  to  the  difficult  is  too  rapid.  The  danger  here  is  twofold :  in 
the  first  place,  the  course  is  apt  to  be  unsuccessful,  since  it  presup- 
poses a  rate  of  progress  which  is  incompatible  with  thoroughness; 
and  in  the  second  place,  the  incessant  strain  under  which  the  pupil 
is  kept  effectually  prevents  him  from  becoming  interested  in  his 
reading  and  deriving  enjoyment  from  it.  We  would  suggest  occa- 
sional breathing  spells,  when  for  some  little  time  reading  of  the 
same  grade  of  difficulty  is  assigned.*  The  pupil  takes  the  most 
lively  satisfaction  in  the  thought  that  he  can  at  last  read  with 
some  ease,  and  th-e  self-confidence  and  cheerful  spirit  which  this 
feeling  begets  are  invaluable  aids  in  further  effort.  This  is  why  in 
the  end  the  best  results  are  obtained  by  a  large  amount  of  fairly 
rapid  reading  of  but  slowly  increasing  difficulty.  Hence  we  would 
recommend  a  reader  like  Wenckebach's  Glilck  oAif,  which,  more- 
over, can  be  finished  in  the  first  year. 

GRAMMAR. 

Grammar  is  merely  a  classification  of  facts — theory  following 
practice;  and  this  chronological  order  is  the  natural  one  in  instruc- 
tion as  well.  Also,  it  is  more  effective  than  the  procedure  of  the 
grammar  method,  which  furnishes  paradigms  and  rules  ready- 
made  and  applies  them  afterwards ;  for  the  grammatical  phenom- 
ena whose  nature  and  significance  the  pupil  is  led  to  observe  and 
reason  out  for  himself  will  impress  themselves  more  lastingly  upon 
his  mind.  By  this  "Inductive  Method"  the  very  first  sentences  or 
connected  piece  read  by  the  class  are  made  to  yield  the  material  for 
the  construction  of  one  or  more  paradigms ;  isolated  forms  and  con- 
structions are  noted  and  stored  up  until  the  time  when  the  set  to 
which  they  belong  is  complete;  and  each  succeeding  reading  lesson 
adds  its  share,  until  the  entire  structure  of  elementary  grammar  is 
erected.  Deductive  reasoning,  that  is,  the  applying  of  a  gram- 
matical rule  to  a  particular  case  in  hand,  will  in  turn  be  resorted  to 
by  the  pupil  whenever  his  Sprachgefuhl  fails  him  or  his  memory  does 
not  supply  an  analogous  case.  This  process  affords  valuable  train- 
ing, and,  in  its  place,  cannot  be  dispensed  with;  but  it  does  little 
toward  developing  a  ready  command  of  the  forms  of  speech.    The 


*The  reading  of  additional  matter  of  the  same  grade  does  far  more 
good  than  the  reviewing  of  the  past  reading  lessons,  which  some  teachers, 
from  a  mistaken  idea  of  thoroughness,  do  at  the  beginning  of  each  recita- 
tion or  en  bloc  at  longer  intervals.  Such  reviews  are  an  unmitigated  bore 
and  are  justly  detested  by  the  pupils. 


^; 


UNIVf. 


A  Four  Years'  Course  in  German  for  Secondary  Schools         7 

recital  of  paradigms  is  unprofitable;  what  should  be  taught  is 
rather  "living  grammar,"  that  is,  the  use  of  the  various  forms  of  a 
paradigm  in  actual  sentences.  Such  questions  and  answers  like 
the  following  are  more  to  the  purpose  and  of  greater  interest  to 
the  pupil  than  the  formal  declension  of  the  word  "Schiiler" : 

"Wer  ist  in  dem  Schulzimmer?     Der  Schiiler  ist  in  dem  Schul- 

zimmer. 
Wessen  Buch  hat  der  Lehrer  ?    Er  hat  das  Buch  des  Schiilers. 
Wem  giebt  der  Lehrer  das  Buch  ?    Er  giebt  es  dem  Schiiler. 
"Wen  lobt  der  Lehrer  ?    Er  lobt  den  Schiiler. 

The  outline  of  grammar  to  be  studied  in  the  first  year  should 
include:  the  reg;ular  inflection  of  nouns,  adjectives,  articles,  pro- 
nouns, and  weak  verbs;  the  inflection  of  the  more  usual  strong 
verbs,  irregular  verbs  and  irregular  nouns;  the  more  common  prep- 
ositions; the  simpler  uses  of  the  modal  auxiliaries;  and  the  most 
important  rules  concerning  word-order  and  the  use  of  the  sub- 
junctive. 

SPEAKING. 

Speaking  and  Composition  involve  essentially  the  same  mental 
processes;  they  differ  only  in  that  the  medium  of  expression  is, 
with  the  former,  the  voice;  with  the  latter,  the  written  symbols  of 
words.  To  the  extent  indicated,  the  two,  therefore,  afford  the  same 
kind  of  training.  But  in  point  of  intensity  of  training  they  again 
differ  widely.  Proficiency  in  a  language  is  solely  a  matter  of  prac- 
tice; and  it  is  obvious  that  the  use  of  the  foreign  language  as  the 
medium  of  instruction  will  provide  a  vastly  greater  amount  of 
practice  than  the  relatively  small  quantity  of  written  work  which 
it  is  possible  to  do.  Only  by  constantly  hearing  and  speaking  the 
foreign  language  in  the  class  room  can  the  pupil,  in  the  limited 
time  devoted  to  its  study,  acquire  that  degree  of  familiarity  with 
the  ordinar}^  inflections  and  constructions  which  enables  him  to  use 
them  readily,  instinctively,  without  first  thinking  of  paradigms  and 
rules.  In  other  words,  by^this  means  alone  can  he  hope  to  develop 
a  measure  of  Sprachgefilhl^  the  very  essence  of  proficiency. 

Speaking,  whether  in  one's  own  language  or  in  a  foreign  one, 
is  a  process  of  imitation;  we  use  words,  inflections,  phrases,  and 
constructions  with  which  we  have  at  some  time  become  familiar 
through  hearing  or  seeing  them  used  by  others.  Hence  practice  in 
speaking,  in  a  school  course,  should  be  based  upon  language  mate- 
rial previously  studied  or  observed  by  the  class,  in  whatever  form : 
the  reading  matter,  the  specimen  sentences  used  in  the  study  of 
grammar,  the  questions  put  by  the  teacher,  the  explanations  given 
by  him,  etc.     This  language  material  the  pupil  must  be  led  by  care- 


8         A  Four  Years'  Course  in  German  for  Secondary  Schools 

fully  framed  questions  to  use  in  his  answers,  at  first  in  its  orig- 
inal form  or  with  a  mere  rearrangement  of  words,  but  later  modi- 
fied and  recast  by  the  use  of  different  inflections  and  constructions 
and  amplified  by  the  introduction  of  additional  words  and  phrases 
from  the  stock  already  at  his  command;  in  this  way  he  will  learn 
to  form  sentences  more  and  more  independently. 

In  the  discussion  of  the  reading  lesson  especially,  the  use  of 
English  is  a  sheer  waste  of  precious  opportunities.  If  the  pupil 
has  been  taught,  as  he  should  be,  to  understand  the  text  at  first 
hand,  without  constantly  making  a  mental  translation  into  Eng- 
lish, the  German  vocabulary  will  come  naturally  to  him  in  speaking 
of  the  lesson;  in  any  case,  he  will  learn  the  new  words  and  idioms 
more  thoroughly  if  he  knows  that  he  will  be  expected  not  merely 
to  recognize  them  at  sight,  but  also  to  use  them  without  the  aid  of 
the  book ;  and  their  use  in  class  will  still  more  firmly  impress  them 
upon  his  mind.  Besides,  he  will  have,  in  this  way,  constant  prac- 
tice in  applying  what  he  has  already  learned  in  previous  lessons; 
and  finally,  while  the  reading  matter  is  elucidated  quite  as  effec- 
tively as  by  the  use  of  English,  its  German  atmosphere  is  pro- 
tected from  the  obtrusion  of  un-German  concepts  connected  with 
English  words. 

Contrary  to  the  impression  of  some  teachers,  German  can  and 
should  be  used  from  the  outset  in  the  discussion  of  grammar  and 
composition  as  well  as  of  the  reading.  The  technical  vocabulary 
needed  to  that  end  is  small  and  in  good  part  identical  with  the  Eng- 
lish words ;  it  will  be  picked  up,  almost  without  effort,  in  the  process 
of  developing  paradigms  and  rules  in  class.  There  are  occasions 
when,  owing  to  the  complexity  or  the  abstract  nature  of  a  gram- 
matical problem,  the  use  of  English  is  advisable;  but  such  cases 
are  rare,  and  the  growing  proficiency  of  the  class  will  in  time  make 
exceptions  of  that  sort  entirely  unnecessary. 

The  prime  conditions  of  success  in  oral  practice  are  an  early 
start,  immediately  after  the  discussion  of  pronunciation,  and,  so 
far  as  possible,  uninterrupted  continuance.  The  more  exceptions 
the  teacher  makes  in  favor  of  English,  the  harder  he  will  find  it 
to  make  the  pupils  speak  German  at  all.  If  German  is  from  the 
first  the  medium  of  instruction,  the  pupils  will  accept  it  as  a  mat- 
ter of  course  and  will  soon  take  pride  and  delight  in  their  speak- 
ing ability;  classes  thus  trained  are  invariably  more  attentive, 
alert,  and  interested  than  those  taught  by  the  grammar  or  read- 
ing method.  But  if  oral  practice  is  introduced  only  spasmodically, 
or  late  in  the  course,  the  pupils  will  look  upon  it  as  more  or  less  of 
an  imposition,  an  added  hardship,  and  this  attitude  on  their  part 
will  tend  to  diminish  even  the  very  moderate  results  which  such  a 
method  might  otherwise  produce. 


A  Four  Years'  Course  in  German  for  Secondary  Schools         9 

The  setting  apart  of  special  recitations  or  parts  of  recitations 
for  oral  practice,  to  the  exclusion  of  such  practice  from  the  re- 
mainder of  the  work,  is  not  to  be  recommended.  Oral  training  is, 
as  suggested  above,  best  and  most  economically  obtained  as  an  inci- 
dental but  constant  feature  of  the  other  branches  of  the  work,  with- 
out a  special  allotment  of  time;  the  loss  of  time  occasioned  by  the 
use  of  German  as  the  language  of  the  class  room,  according  to  the 
method  outlined  above,  is  insignificant  in  comparison  with  the  bene- 
fits derived  therefrom. 

Every  teacher  of  German  should,  of  course,  before  entering  upon 
his  career,  or  as  soon  as  possible  thereafter,  spend  a  year  or  at  least 
a  summer  in  Germany,  to  perfect  himself  in  the  language  and  to 
become  acquainted  with  the  country  and  the  people  at  first  hand. 
Until  he  can  do  this,  he  can  find  opportunities  for  improving  his 
practical  command  of  the  language  in  most  parts  of  this  country; 
and  for  the  benefit  of  diffident  teachers  we  will  add  that  even  a  mod- 
erate speaking  ability  can  be  made  to  go  a  long  way  in  the  class 
room  if  each  lesson  is,  aSit  should  be,  carefully  planned  and  pre- 
pared beforehand. 

COMPOSITION. 

What  has  been  said  above  of  the  systematic  grading  of  the  exer- 
cises in  speaking,  from  the  simple  reproduction  of  given  material 
to  free  imitation  and  ultimately  to  the  independent  forming  of  sen- 
tences, applies  equally  to  the  written  work.  The  same  material 
should  serve  as  a  basis  for  speaking  and  for  composition.  It 
should,  in  the  earlier  stages  of  instruction  at  least,  be  familiar  ma- 
terial gone  over  already  in  class ;  at  first,  indeed,  the  pupils  should 
merely  write  down  some  of  this  material  and  of  the  answers  given 
orally,  from  dictation  in  class  and  from  memory  at  home.  Then 
they  should  write  out,  at  home,  answers  to  new  questions  assigned 
from  the  grammar  or  dictated  by  the  teacher;  how  these  questions 
should  be  framed  so  as  to  elicit  answers  consisting  in  increasingly 
free  reproductions  of  the  material  used,  has  already  been  described 
under  "Heading."  At  this  stage  of  'free  reproduction,'  which  will 
occupy  the  remainder  of  the  year,  the  reading  can  be  utilized  for 
written  work  afi'ording  a  great  variety  of  grammatical  drill.  Anec- 
dotes or  paragraphs  from  stories  can  be  rewritten  with  a  change  of 
tense,  or  of  direct  discourse  to  indirect,  or  of  narrative  form  to  dia- 
logue; or  the  teacher  may  read  to  the  pupils  an  anecdote,  fable,  or 
the  like,  which  is  not  in  their  books,  and  after  thoroughly  discussing 
it  and  having  it  retold  by  them,  assign  it  to  be  written  out  at  home. 
Similarly,  poems  may  be  turned  into  prose  and  then  worked  over 
as  suggested.  Some  written  work  should,  of  course,  from  time  to 
time,  be  done  in  class,  with  books  closed ;  the  pupil  is  then  thrown 


10       A  Four  Years'  Course  in  German  for  Secondary  Schools 

upon  his  own  resources  and  learns  to  work  independently  of  the  aids 
which  he  is  tempted  to  use  at  home. 

Translation  into  a  foreign  language  is  considered  by  some  of 
the  most  prominent  reformers  to  be  entirely  out  of  place  in  a  school 
course.  We  hold  a  more  conservative  view.  It  is  true  that  it  does 
not  appreciably  advance  the  pupil  toward  the  goal  of  all  composi- 
tion work,  the  free  and  independent  writing  of  idiomatic  German. 
But  it  has  one  advantage:  it  compels  the  pupils  who  may  be  in- 
clined to  follow  the  line  of  least  resistance,  to  face  and  cope  with 
grammatical  difficulties  which  the  very  freedom  of  reproductive 
work  enables  them  to  avoid.  We  would  recommend,  therefore,  a 
moderate  amount  of  translating  into  German  as  a  supplement  to 
the  free  reproduction  of  given  models ;  the  latter  should  always  pre- 
dominate. The  subject  matter  of  the  sentences  and  connected 
pieces  translated  should  so  far  as  possible  be  identical  with  that  of 
the  reading  and  of  the  material  used  in  the  study  of  gram- 
mar. 

MISCELLANEOUS    SUGGESTIONS. 

From  the  very  beginning  the  attention  of  the  class  should  be 
called  to  the  close  relation  between  German  and  English.  Ac- 
quaintance with  "Grimm's  Law"  will  in  many  cases  enable  the  pu- 
pil to  remember  words  more  easily  or  to  identify  new  ones  at 
sight  with  their  English  equivalents. 

Dictation  affords  valuable  exercise  in  connecting  sounds  with 
letters.  But  only  what  has  previously  been  read  or  heard  by  the 
class  should  be  used  for  dictation.  The  pupil  should  never  be  asked 
to  write  what  he  does  not  fully  understand. 

The  reading  aloud  to  the  class  of  simple  stories,  with  running 
comment,  if  necessary,  and  with  questions  to  test  the  pupils'  un- 
derstanding of  what  is  read,  is  likewise  excellent  practice.  Such 
stories  should  afterwards  be  retold  by  the  class,  and  finally  be  writ- 
ten out  at  home. 

The  memorizing  not  only  of  poems,  but  of  prose  selections,  is 
to  be  strongly  recommmended.  But  they  should  be  simple  and 
natural  in  style  and  diction,  so  as  to  furnish,  on  occasion,  suitable 
models  for  imitation  in  speaking  or  writing.  In  this  connection 
we  may  add  that  German  plays  performed  by  members  of  the  class 
will  amply  repay  the  time  and  effort  devoted  to  memorizing  and 
rehearsing,  by  the  linguistic  training  they  afford  to  the  participants 
and  the  interest  and  enthusiasm  they  arouse  generally.  The  same 
is  true  of  the  singing  of  German  songs  during  special  meetings 
after  school  hours. 

It  is  desirable,  where  convenient,  that  a  room  be  set  aside  for 
the  exclusive  use  of  the  German  classes.     Such  a  room  should  be 


A  Four  Years'  Covrse  in  Oerman  for  Secondary  Schools       11 

equipped  with  pictorial  and  other  aids  to  instruction :  political 
and  physical  maps  of  Germany,  views  of  German  cities,  pictures  of 
noted  Germans,  of  famous  buildings  and  works  of  art,  of  street 
scenes,  of  country'  life,  of  places  of  historical  interest,  and  of  great 
events  in  German  history.  Such  an  equipment  is  invalual)le  in 
making  instruction  interesting  and  profitable;  it  creates  a  German 
atmosphere  and  gives  reality  to  the  descriptions  of  German  life;  it 
furnishes  an  admirable  basis  for  oral  discussions,  which  in  turn 
will  supply  material  for  written  work.  The  well-known  wall  pic- 
tures of  German  life  by  Holzel  may  now  be  obtained  in  small, 
inexpensive  reproductions,  which  can  be  put  into  the  hands  of  the 
pupils  for  description  in  writing  at  home. 


To  illustrate  our  recommendations  we  give  in  the  followng  a 
brief  outline  of  the  first  year's  work,  assuming  for  this  purpose  that 
the  books  used  are  Spanhoofd's  Lehrhuch  der  deutschen  Sprache, 
and  Wenckebach's  GlucJc  avf,  the  grammar  and  reader  which  at 
present  best  exemplify  the  principles  set  forth  above. 

The  Lehrbuch  is  intended  to  be  gone  through  in  the  first  year 
of  a  secondar}^  school  course;  but  it  contains  rather  more  than  the 
average  class  can  master  in  that  space  of  time.  About  thirty  of  its 
thirty-five  lessons  will  constitute  a  good  year's  work;  but  as  to 
that,  no  rule  can  be  laid  down,  and  thoroughness  is  always  the 
first  consideration.  This  is  also  true  of  the  reading;  but  Gluck  auf 
can  more  easily  be  finished  in  the  first  year  than  the  Lehrhuch. 

At  the  beginning  of  each  lesson  in  the  Lehrhuch  a  number  of 
sentences  are  given,  which  are  to  serve  as  models.  The  teacher 
reads  them  aloud  and  has  the  class  repeat  them ;  they  are  then  prac- 
ticed conversationally,  in  questions  and  answers,  until  the  pupils 
have  mastered  them  thoroughly  and  no  longer  think  of  the  Eng- 
lish equivalents.  The  class  is  then  questioned  about  the  new  gram- 
matical phenomena  observed  in  the  sentences;  and  when  these  have 
been  brought  out,  they  are  classified  and  made  into  a  paradigm  or 
used  in  the  formulating  of  a  rule.  Not  until  then  are  the  books 
opened;  right  after  the  paradigm  or  rule  there  will  be  found  sen- 
tences applying  it,  usually  with  new  variations  and  additions,  and 
these  sentences  are  now  read  and,  like  those  at  the  head  of  the  les- 
son, practiced  orally.  Next  comes  an  independent  reading  selec- 
tion (proverbs,  an  anecdote,  and  the  like),  which  is  to  be  read 
aloud  and  discussed  in  German.  The  English  statement  of  the 
grammar  lesson,  which  follows,  is  for  reference  at  home  and  to  cor- 
rect misunderstandings ;  in  class  the  grammar  is  developed  in  Ger- 
man. A  list  of  new  words  occurring  in  the  lesson  serves  in  the 
preparation  of  the  reading  and  in  the  subsequent  reviews  of  the 
lesson;  every  noun  should  be  learned  with  its  definite  article,  since 


13       A  Four  Years'  Course  in  German  for  Secondary  Schools 

there  are  no  general  rules  for  the  determination  of  gender.  At  the 
end  of  each  lesson  there  are  exercises  of  various  kinds :  German  ques- 
tions on  the  reading  lesson  or  the  model  sentences,  for  conversa- 
tional practice  or  to  be  answered  at  home  in  writing;  German  sen- 
tences for  recasting  and  parts  of  sentences  for  completion;  and 
English  sentences  for  translation  into  German.  The  home  work 
will  consist  of  a  review  of  the  class  room  work,  including,  perhaps, 
the  writing  out  in  German  of  answers  given  orally  by  the  pupils, 
or  of  explanations  furnished  by  the  teacher  in  class ;  of  the  prepara- 
tion of  the  next  reading  lesson;  and  of  new  written  work  assigned 
from  the  exercises  in  the  book  as  based  upon  questions  dictated  by 
the  teacher. 

The  reader  may  be  taken  up  at  any  time  after  the  first  eight 
lessons  in  Spanhoofd  have  been  mastered;  but  much  the  greater 
part  of  each  recitation  should  still  be  devoted  to  the  Lehrhuch  (even 
in  the  second  year,  until  this  book  is  finished).  The  elementary 
division  of  the  reader  (the  Vorstufe)  is  simple  enough  to  be  read 
at  sight,  or  to  be  read  aloud  to  the  class ;  the  teacher  will  then  ascer- 
tain by  questions  in  German  whether  the  class  has  understood  the 
text,  or  he  can  dictate  questions  which  are  to  be  answered  in  writ- 
ing at  home.  The  Vorstufe  does  not  contain  enough  of  this  grade 
of  reading;  the  teacher  will  do  well  to  read  to  the  class  additional 
selections  from  other  books.  When  the  class  has  studied  the  strong 
verbs  (Lesson  XXII  in  the  Lehrhuch),  it  is  ready  to  take  up 
with  profit  and  relative  ease  the  advanced  divisions  in  the  reader. 
It  is  suggested  that  Divisions  III  and  IV  (Aus  der  germanischen 
Gotterwelt  and  Aus  der  germanischen  Sagenwelt)  be  read  before 
Division  II  {Aus  dem  deutschen  Dichterland),  as  the  latter  is 
largely  descriptive  and  its  vocabulary  more  or  less  abstract. 

A  suggestion  or  two  will  suffice  to  illustrate  the  correlation  of 
reading  and  composition.  When  the  class  has  read  Thors  Hammer, 
the  story  may  be  rewritten  in  the  present  tense;  or  the  part  of  it 
which  deals  with  the  loss  of  the  hammer  may  be  recast  as  if  Thor 
himself  were  telling  it.  Similarly,  when  the  class  has  studied  the 
twenty-second  lesson  in  the  Lehrhuch,  most  of  the  connected  prose 
in  the  first  twenty  lessons  (where  the  verbs  are  throughout  in  the 
present  tense)  may  be  written  in  the  imperfect  or  pluperfect  tense 
or  paraphrased  and  recast  in  other  ways,  as  specified  under  'Com- 
position.' 

SECOND  YEAR. 

READING. 

Most  teachers  prefer  at  this  stage  separate  editions  of  German 
stories  to  a  reader.  Of  five  recitations  a  week,  three  should  now  be 
devoted  exclusively  to  reading;  this  ratio  is  a  good  one  for  the  third 
and  fourth  years  also.     The  stories  should  be  read  as  literature. 


A  Four  Years'  Course  in  German  for  Secondary  Schools       13 

not  as  material  for  grammatical  drill ;  though  of  course  new  or  un- 
usual word-forms  and  constructions  should  be  discussed,  and  the 
teacher  should  occasionally  ask  a  question  to  ascertain  whether  the 
class  have  observed  and  understood  the  more  striking  graniiiiatical 
phenomena.  Only  a  part  of  each  lesson  should  now  be  read  aloud, 
preferably  dialogues  and  other  passages  calling  for  a  good  deal  of  ex- 
pression. Reading  at  sight  should  from  this  time  on  be  practiced 
systematically;  the  pupils  should  be  taught  to  make  the  most  of 
their  knowledge  of  root-words,  of  derivative  prefixes  and  suflfixes, 
and  of  English  cognates,  in  determining  the  meanings  of  new 
words. 

The  choice  of  the  reading  matter  should  at  all  times  be  gov- 
erned by  the  consideration  that  the  ultimate  object  of  the  study  of 
modern  foreign  languages  is  a  sympathetic  appreciation  of  other  na- 
tionalities, of  their  ways  of  thinking  and  feeling,  their  manners  and 
customs,  their  history  and  institutions,  and  their  achievements  in 
the  domain  of  literature  and  of  intellectual  life  generally.  Hence 
the  reading  should,  above  all,  be  thoroughly  German  in  subject  and 
spirit — typically  and  representatively  German;  everything  un-Ger- 
man,  as  for  instance  classical  myths  and  legends,  Heyse's  Italian 
stories,  or  Carmen  Sylva's  Roumanian  stories,  is  to  be  rejected  as 
unprofitable  from  any  point  of  view  except  the  purely  linguistic  one, 
and  to  some  extent  even  in  this  particular.  The  reading  should, 
moreover,  be  thoroughly  modern  in  style  and  vocabulary;  not  until 
the  pupil  is  fairly  familiar  with  the  ordinary  forms  of  German  as 
it  is  spoken  and  written  at  the  present  day,  can  he  safely  and  ad- 
vantageously take  up  the  classics  of  a  century  or  a  century  and  a 
half  ago ;  and  that  point  is  hardly  ever  reached  before  the  latter 
part  of  the  third  year. 

We  recommend,  therefore,  for  the  second  year,  books  like  the 
following: 

(First  Semester)  Yolhmann's  Kleine  Geschichten;  Spyri's 
Moni  der  Geisshub ;  Leander's  Trdumereien ;  Baumbach's  Im  Zwie- 
licht  and  WaldnoveUen;  Storm's  Immensee;  Gerstacker's  Germels- 
Tiausen;  Bemhardt's  Aus  Herz  und  Welt.  (Second  Semester) 
Arnold's  Fritz  auf  Ferien;  Gerstacker's  Irrfahrten;  Baumbach's 
Der  Schwiegersohn;  Wildenbruch's  Das  edle  Blut;  Wilbrandt's  one- 
act  comedy  Jugendliehe.  For  occasional  use  throughout  the  year: 
Mueller,  Deutsche  Gedichte  (about  one-half). 

GRAMMAR. 

The  study  of  the  accidence  and  syntax  should  be  more  detailed 
and  thorough  than  in  the  first  year;  but  it  should  still  be  confined 
only  to  the  essentials,  that  is,  to  the  forms  and  constructions  used 
in  a  simple  style  of  writing  or  speech.    The  student  should  now  be 


14       A  Four  Years'  Course  in  German  for  Secondary  Schools 

so  far  advanced  that  German  can  be  used  exclusively  even  in  the 
discussion  of  the  grammatical  rules. 

COMPOSITION. 

The  written  work  should  consist  mainly  in  free  reproduction. 
For  translation  into  German  only  very  simple  narrative  prose 
should  be  used,  preferaby  Engish  paraphrases  and  synopses  of  the 
reading,  such  as  are  now  appended  to  various  editions  of  German 
stories  and  in  some  cases  also  published  separately.  Most  composi- 
tion books  are  too  difficult;  a  large  amount  of  easy  translating  is 
far  more  profitabe  than  a  small  amount  of  laborious  piecing  to- 
gether of  German  equivalents  for  English  phrases. 

THIED   YEAR. 
READING. 

The  reading  should  continue  to  consist  in  modern  prose  and 
should  lead  up,  in  the  second  half  year,  to  the  most  popular  of  the 
classics:  Schiller.  Grammatical  points  should  be  discussed  only 
in  so  far  as  the  elucidation  of  the  text  absolutely  requires  it ;  the  dis- 
isecting  of  good  literature  for  the  purpose  of  illustrating  grammar 
is  an  abomination.  The  reading  should  be  done  fairly  rapidly,  to 
preserve  the  continuity  of  the  story  and  bring  out  the  literary 
flavor;  if  that  is  not  possible,  the  text  is  too  difficult  for  the  class 
and  an  easier  one  would  give  better  results.  The  class  should  be 
taught  to  observe  the  structure  of  the  story,  the  characterization  of 
the  persons,  and,  if  the  pupils  are  mature  enough,  the  salient  quali- 
ties of  the  author's  style;  and  each  story  should  be  made  to  yield, 
within  its  scope,  as  complete  a  picture  of  German  life  as  possible. 
The  pupils  should  be  required,  or  at  least  encouraged,  to  do  some 
private  reading,  upon  which  they  should  report  to  the  teacher 
orally  or  in  writing. 

Texts  suitable,  among  others,  for  the  third  year:  Seidel's 
Leberecht  Hiihnchen;  W.  Meyer-Forster's  Earl  Heinrich  (espe- 
cially suitable  for  private  reading) ;  Eiehl's  Das  Spielmannsbind 
and  Der  stumme  Ratsherr;  Fulda's  Unter  vier  Augen;  Freytag's 
Aus  dem  Staate  Friednchs  des  Grossen;  Keller's  Kleider  mac'hen 
Leute;  Schiller's  Lied  von  der  Glocke,  Gustav  Adolph  in  Deutsch- 
land,  Wilhelm  Tell;  Mueller,  Deutsche  Gedichte  (second  half, 
throughout  the  year). 

GRAMMAR. 

A  systematic  grammar  such  as  Bierwirth's  Elements  of  Ger- 
man, or  Thomas's  Practical  German  Grammar,  is  recommended  for 
the  purpose  of  review  and  reference. 


A  Four  Years'  Course  in  German  for  Secondary  Schools       15 

COMPOSITION. 

The  reproduction  of  given  models  in  the  form  of  paraphrases, 
synopses,  and  themes  on  topics  previously  discussed  in  class  will  in 
the  course  of  the  year  lead  up  to  entirely  original  composition  on 
simple  subjects  with  which  the  pupil  is  familiar.  Some  translating 
into  German  should  be  done,  similar  in  nature  to  that  recommended 
for  the  second  year,  but  somewhat  more  advanced,  while  still  in- 
volving only  the  use  of  ordinary  forms  and  constructions;  the  ren- 
dering of  elevated  or  florid  prose  or  of  intricate  periods  may  be 
good  mental  discipline,  but  does  not  afford  any  practical  linguistic 
training.  The  narrative  and  epistulary  material  in  Harris'  Ger- 
man Composition  is  quite  advanced  enough  and  sufficient  in  amount 
for  this  year;  we  would  omit  the  biographical,  historical,  and 
descriptive  selections  (Part  IV)  altogether. 

FOURTH    YEAR. 

READING. 

The  fourth  year  should  be  devoted  mainly  to  the  classics,  with 
some  of  the  best  modern  prose:  Hauff's  Lichtenstein  (excellent 
for  private  reading)  ;  Freytag's  Soil  und  Hah  en;  Goethe's  Sesen- 
heim;  Lessing's  Minna  von  Barnhelm;  Goethe's  Hermann  und 
Dorothea;  Schiller's  Wallensteins  Lager;  Goethe's  Iphigenie. 

Sketches  of  the  lives  of  Goethe,  Schiller,  and  Lessing,  and 
synopses  of  their  principal  works,  so  far  as  they  are  not  read  by  the 
class,  may  be  taken  from  one  of  the  elementary^  German  Histories 
of  German  Literature  for  discussion  in  class  and  subsequent  dicta- 
tion. A  book  like  Schrakamp's  Beruhmte  Deutsche  also  furnishes 
appropriate  supplementary  reading  and  is  excellent  for  conversa- 
tional practice. 

GRAMMAR. 

Review  lessons  only,  and  discussions  in  connection  with  the 
written  work.  The  use  of  a  grammar  written  in  German  is  advan- 
tageous as  an  aid  in  the  complete  elimination  of  English. 

COMPOSITION. 

Mainly  original  work  of  various  kinds :  narrative,  descriptive, 
and  epistolary.  Attention  is  called  to  the  International  Correspond- 
ence scheme  by  which  pupils  in  different  countries  are  put  into 
communication  with  each  other  for  the  purpose  of  exchanging  let- 
ters, and  which  has  been  productive  of  excellent  results;  the  Chair- 
man of  the  American  bureau  is  Professor  E.  H.  Magill,  Swarth- 
more,  Pennsylvania. 

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